A biting class satire, a hilarious farce, a comedy of pitchest black, this is the jewel in the glittering crown of Ealing Studios. Oh, it may be amoral and thoroughly naughty, but that just adds to the deliciousness of this tale, whereby an impoverished offshoot of a noble family, Louis Mazzini (Price) murders his relations (all played by Guinness) on his way to a title. Price is impossibly poised in the lead role, but it's Guinness who garnered most of the attention in a succession of noble turns that run the gamut from fop to fogey via suffragette. With a Wildean voice over dripping with bon mots ("It is so difficult to make a neat job of killing people with whom one is not on friendly terms") and a thorough villain as its hero, this isn't nearly as cuddly as, say, Passport to Pimlico or Whisky Galore!, but it's a wildly entertaining aberration for the studio.

While I'll agree with the selection of Sexy Beast for the list, my problem stems from all the critical super hype over Sir Ben's Don Loggan. For me his character is so over the top as to be comic relief. Where as Ian McShanes Teddy Bass was villain of nightmares. The scene in the hotel cafe, over breakfast, all he does is smile at Ray Winstone, and you feel that you need to hide beneath your seat. More

Posted on Saturday December 3, 2011, 00:13 by zeprin

13

Sexy Beast Wrong Way 'Round

While I'll agree with the selection of Sexy Beast for the list, my problem stems from all the critical super hype over Sir Ben's Don Loggan. For me his character is so over the top as to be comic relief. Where as Ian McShanes Teddy Bass was villain of nightmares. The scene in the hotel cafe, over breakfast, all he does is smile at Ray Winstone, and you feel that you need to hide beneath your seat. More

Posted on Saturday December 3, 2011, 00:13 by zeprin

14

The worst list ever

I registered just to vent my spleen. This list is awful. How is Monsters there and not Get Carter. What about I'm Alright Jack and the myriad of pre-1950s classics. What about Kidulthood and the Hammer/Amicus films. More

Posted on Friday December 2, 2011, 10:57 by Fredlocks

15

EMpire, the mag for teens!!!

reading this list and quit simply amazed that some harry potter films are in there!!! these films obviously voted on popularity not the acting nor the story!!! a list this bad im supprised that spiceworld the movie wasnt at no 1!!!! More

Posted on Tuesday October 25, 2011, 20:22 by daveo1973

16

goog list

good list but wheres films such as Get carter, The Elephant Man, Scum, Quadrophenia etc More

Posted on Tuesday October 25, 2011, 20:19 by daveo1973

17

goog list

good list but wheres films such as Get carter, The Elephant Man, Scum, Quadrophenia etc More

Posted on Tuesday October 25, 2011, 20:15 by daveo1973

18

Re: The 100 Best British Films

Boy have you blown it. How could you leave out TOMMY, the all time best film of any country or decade?????? Sure Ann-Margret's incestuous overtones as Mrs. Walker were a tad much, but otherwise, Ken Russell directed a masterpiece. How can the stunningly beautiful Roger Daltrey's portrayal of the title role not move you to tears????? The Rocky Horror Picture Show was another overlooked British masterpiece. You just don't know what a truly great British film consists of!
More

Posted on Tuesday October 25, 2011, 17:13 by TommyGirl

19

RE: The 100 Best British Films Ever

L: JohnChard
How can someone with such great taste in Westerns have such bad taste in British comedy?
Dreadful? Really? Even Kim Newman here gave it 3/5, with his only argument for not rating higher being that it's dated! Which is a "dreadful" excuse to use on any old classic film. The film is highly rated by other British Film Institutes and Forums. Not your thing? I can truck with that of course, but dreadful isn't a word I've ever seen attributed to Oh! Mr Porter before now.
ppose comedy's a very subjective thing, so if you don't think it works, you /i] don't think it works. I just didn't laugh at the film and I found Hay's mugging really tiresome. Also, you know the way that comedies rich in non-sequiturs might not play well in another 50 years' time? That's kind of how I feel about Porter!me of Groucho Marx's jokes (not many, just some) - not only do I not find them funny, but I don't understand they were once funny. Incidentally, '30s comedy is very much my thing (More

Posted on Tuesday October 25, 2011, 13:53 by rick_7

20

RE: The 100 Best British Films Ever

L: rick_7
L: JohnChard
Oh Mr Porter! and Ask A Policeman
Surely one of these Will Hay classics deserve to make any Great British list, especially when said list here contains A Fish Called Wanda and Four Weddings & A Funeral. FFS.
ke trains and I /i] like Launder and Gilliat (actually, they like trains, don't they - y Vanishesght Train to Munich but orter!adful.
sp;
How can someone with such great taste in Westerns have such bad taste in British comedy?
Dreadful? Really? Even Kim Newman here gave it 3/5, with his only argument for not rating higher being that it's dated! Which is a "dreadful" excuse to use on any old classic film. The film is highly rated by other British Film Institutes and Forums. Not your thing? I can truck with that of course, but dreadful isn't a word I've ever seen attributed to Oh! Mr Porter before now. More

Posted on Tuesday October 25, 2011, 01:53 by JohnChard

21

Oh dear...

"The King's Speech"? "Shakespeare in Love"? There are more than a few films which have been overhyped but are truly terrible. And did "Shaun of the Dead" really deserve to be that high? Don't get me wrong, I'm a massive Edgar Wright fan, but... More

Posted on Monday October 24, 2011, 15:00 by fiedleraufdemdach

22

What?

I can think of a few that was so shamelessly left off the list. "Mona Lisa" and "The Crying Game" would be better choices than some of the Harry Potter movies you have on the list. More

Posted on Monday October 24, 2011, 13:09 by domino1003

23

A joke

Shaun of the dead is a better film than bridge over the river Kwai and Zulu?THAT's WHY these lists are pure rubbish. More

Posted on Monday October 24, 2011, 00:22 by Billmcgarrity

24

RE: The 100 Best British Films Ever

L: rick_7
L: JohnChard
Oh Mr Porter! and Ask A Policeman
Surely one of these Will Hay classics deserve to make any Great British list, especially when said list here contains A Fish Called Wanda and Four Weddings & A Funeral. FFS.
ke trains and I /i] like Launder and Gilliat (actually, they like trains, don't they - y Vanishesght Train to Munich but orter!adful.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!
Rick, I thought I could count on you to love a little Will.
More

Posted on Saturday October 22, 2011, 04:33 by rawlinson

25

I believe this list is "...according to our readers" ?

That would explain its quirkiness (in some people's opinion). These things tend to be dominated by the latest fad, so nice to see something sensible at no. 1
A better way to do this would be weight the votes by how old the film is. Anything that still gets a vote after 40 years should be considered a lot better than something that gets 40 votes after 1 year.
If you have any doubts about that, try guessing what's on the novel best-seller list for 1910. Then have a look. I doubt you'll have heard of many of the authors, never mind the books. Yet these are the Harry Potters of their day. Here they are:
http://www.arosebooks.com/58/best-selling-books -1910-1919/
I hope my point is made! More

Posted on Saturday October 22, 2011, 02:36 by LizR

26

RE: The 100 Best British Films Ever

L: JohnChard
Oh Mr Porter! and Ask A Policeman
Surely one of these Will Hay classics deserve to make any Great British list, especially when said list here contains A Fish Called Wanda and Four Weddings & A Funeral. FFS.
ke trains and I /i] like Launder and Gilliat (actually, they like trains, don't they - y Vanishesght Train to Munich but orter!adful. More

Posted on Thursday October 20, 2011, 14:57 by rick_7

27

RE: The 100 Best British Films Ever

Oh Mr Porter! and Ask A Policeman
Surely one of these Will Hay classics deserve to make any Great British list, especially when said list here contains A Fish Called Wanda and Four Weddings & A Funeral. FFS. More

Posted on Thursday October 20, 2011, 14:04 by JohnChard

28

Please use this format for future "best" lists, as I found it so much easier to navigate, and didn't get bored by clicking the next button continously.
Also, you're never going to please everyone with lists. There are films I love that weren't added to this list, but I'm not going to stop reading empire because of it. Sure, I'll be a bit pissed, but I'll let it pass, as it isn't that important. More

Posted on Thursday October 20, 2011, 10:58 by Aileenfraser

29

Not bad for a small island.

People always moan when you get 'best' or 'greatest' lists (I used to) but there really is no need to take them seriously, they chop and change like the wind!
No other nation could top a chart with names like Brian and Lawrence and for that alone we should be commended. More

Posted on Thursday October 20, 2011, 10:28 by thefacehead

30

RE: You missed somethng

Hmm.../b] should have perhaps just labelled this '100 Great British Films' and left off the 'Ever' bit. Even then there would have been cries of 'What?!' and 'Where?!' but less justified.
As it is there are a fair few glaring omissions or strange placings (as with any list) but I have one major beef.
NDITS? sk. Any list that contains TWO Harry Potter films but not Gilliam's truly delightful fantasy film for the family (if just the Harry Potter films could have had some of the same feel) is a list I cannot respect.
JEDI BOBSTER More

Posted on Tuesday October 18, 2011, 22:24 by JediBobster

31

You missed somethng

How the hell is Oliver! not in there? I love a bit of 60s New wave realism as much as the next man but surely, one jaunty, fantastically scored musical wouldn't go amiss in this list. It's not as though Britain makes many. Also, Lean's Oliver Twist is better than Great Expectations.
Pleased to have guessed 12 of the top 15 (omission of the two olivers hurt me obviously).
List was ok, though would have expected:
The importance of being earnest ('48)
In which we serve
Dead of Night
and even a bit of Bridget Jones. More

Posted on Tuesday October 18, 2011, 15:48 by stapes

32

Basil Radford

Btw, Basil Radford is in the Lady Vanishes and not Basil Rathbone. Although, confusion is understood as Basil Radford does remind me of Nigel Bruce who was Watson to Basil Rathbone's Sherlock.
Talking about Basil Radford, hoping that I've still got Dead of Night to see on this list ... More

Posted on Monday October 17, 2011, 15:06 by stapes

33

Where is...

A Taste of Honey
The League of Gentlemen
Ice Cold In Alex
Whisky Galore
In The Name of the Father
crap crap crappity list.... More

Posted on Monday October 17, 2011, 15:06 by artilleryman

34

Seriously?

Is this list in order of excellence? Cause if it is Empire needs to shut down this web site immediately and stop publication......cause that list is pure shite.
More

It only revolutionised horror cinema and brought about a renaissance of British horror.
And no American Werewolf in London, Masque of the Red Death or the Shining. This is a poor list Empire. I mean, there's some real populist shit in there. More

Posted on Sunday October 16, 2011, 18:08 by Count Karnstein

38

About Antonioni: it's Notte, not Notta! (La Notte= The Night)

We're in digital times and you just can not copy and paste two simple, easy words correctly?
Add this to the Middle Age-like overdose of capital letters in late 2011 English and I get how such a crap of a "list" comes out. More

Posted on Saturday October 15, 2011, 16:33 by debora.milano

39

Oh my

Brazil, The Remains of the Day, A Room With a View, BLOW-UP (!!!) at the bottom places. And A Clockwork Orange just eleventh.
Ok, I'm over. More

I wasn't complaining about people commenting, just the people who sounded like they were leaving Empire just because Empire posted a list different to what they would have expected. Debate's always a good thing! I disagree with some (quite a bit) of the list, but I'm not leaving to go to Total Film just because of this list... More

Posted on Monday October 10, 2011, 12:18 by dctuck

48

RE: The 100 Best British Films Ever

L: elab49
With British creative talent and money behind it
f that's why Hunger is included, then surely so should In Bruges? More

Posted on Saturday October 8, 2011, 22:08 by martygillan

49

RE: The 100 Best British Films Ever

Dear Empire, Just glancing over your 100 Best British Films Ever - an imaginative and comprehensive list. I was just checking if any of my movies were in there and lo and behold at No. 82 is Mr. Hitchcock's classic "The Lady Vanishes". But I am afraid you have made an error - my part was played by the excellent character actor Basil Radford not Basil rathbone whom if you remember was the achetypal Sherlock Holmes and a very hissable Guy of Gisborne. Anyhow, carry on with the good work - you are all doing very well! More

Posted on Saturday October 8, 2011, 09:16 by Charters

50

RE: The 100 Best British Films Ever

Part of the UK, but not Britain. I just meant it doesn't really fit with the rest of the movies here
From the looks of this list the idea of 'Britishness' seems to have been interpreted as Englishness (with the exception of only 5 films; Gregory's Girl, My name is Joe, Sweet Sixteen, Shallow Grave and Trainspotting) More

Posted on Friday October 7, 2011, 22:26 by martygillan

51

RE: The 100 Best British Films Ever

Actually it's set in Northern Ireland - which is part of the United Kingdom. With British creative talent and money behind it.
Since the 50s film funding has been incredibly muddled with particularly the US taking UK bases and UK tax advantages. So I'd assume when looking at a list of this sort that common sense would be used as there is very little 'purity' to rely upon.
More

Posted on Friday October 7, 2011, 21:59 by elab49

52

RE: Unknown movie at NO1?That's dissapointing.

L: Dalekbuster523
Ridiculous that the british film at NO1 is a total unknown.And why isn't "Mr Bean's holiday" on the list?I loved that movie.
'm all for people having their own opinions but Lawrence of Arabia a total unknown? I'm not sure a film forum is the best place for you. More

Posted on Friday October 7, 2011, 21:07 by Funkyrae

53

RE: Unknown movie at NO1?That's dissapointing.

L: Dalekbuster523
Ridiculous that the british film at NO1 is a total unknown.And why isn't "Mr Bean's holiday" on the list?I loved that movie.
eriously ? On both those points. Has to be a joke. More

Posted on Friday October 7, 2011, 21:00 by JIm R

54

RE: Unknown movie at NO1?That's dissapointing.

An interesting list to compare to the one run within the forum. Apart from that though I wanted to say thank you to whoever has reformatted the lists in the main site - this was so much better than having to slog through single page after single page. Thank you - much better layout More

Posted on Friday October 7, 2011, 20:37 by elab49

55

RE: Unknown movie at NO1?That's dissapointing.

So let e get tis straight, Monsters is on the list but Get Carter & Harry Brown arent????
More